Lost in translation

Translation is tricky business. There are many legends about the mistranslation of product names like the Chevy Nova (a car, that with its English name "Nova" announced to potential Spanish-speaking consumers "doesn't go.")

Who can forget the wonderful scene in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" where the heroine's fiancé wants to learn a few phrases in Greek to impress his future-inlaws. In jest, the men in the family teach him vulgarities that he subsequently (foolishly) shouts from the rooftop.

It's no wonder new speakers of any language tend to be worried about translation! I might argue that young children are not so worried. They adopt new words quickly and easily, especially if they like the way they sound or if the word illicits a strong reaction. When my 4-year-old started to speak Russian, he ran around calling everyone "pupsik" (Baby!)

I happened to stumble upon the translation of the title of the popular television program "Lost" today. At the request of a student, who wisely doubted Google's translation of a phrase she wanted to say, I was looking for a Spanish TV guide on the internet. I was looking for what we teachers call "realia." (the real deal - the authentic stuff)

In English, we don't have to ask ourselves the question "Who's lost?" A man? A woman? Lots of people? In order to translate "Lost" into Spanish we have to know the answer...who does this adjective refer to?

There are four possible translations into Spanish for one single English word:

perdido
perdida
perdidos
perdidas

I recommend that you test out translated phrases that you doubt by using Google. Put the phrase in quotes, but be sure to do an advanced search, choosing pages originally written in Spanish. This way, you can see if native Spanish speakers are using the words in the same way.

You can further refine your search by country to learn about usage by a group. For example, how are young people using the word "padre" in Mexico? Que padre!!!!!!!!!!!!